Unistalling will i lose my library

Question

I need to uninstall itunes in order to install odler ipod software that has an older version of itunes. Will i lose my library if i uninstall.

Answer 1

Default settings place the iTunes folder (which contains the iTunes Music , Album Artwork and Previous iTunes Libraries folders along with the iTunes Library files ) at C:\Documents and Settings\ user name \My Documents\My Music\iTunes - far away from the iTunes program itself which is located at C:\Program Files\iTunes .
The iTunes program certainly makes use of the contents of the iTunes folder - among other things the library files tell iTunes where to find the song files which is, of course, necessary if iTunes is going to play any music or transfer it to your iPod.
Since the folder is not actually a part of the program, though, uninstalling or upgrading iTunes should have no effect at all on the contents of the iTunes folder ...
... but ...
... one of the funny things about computers is that sometime, somehow, somewhere when you least expect it , they can do some not so funny things, like unexpectedly losing data when they're not supposed to. Which is why it's a good idea to have a back up copy in reserve of any data (such as your music) that you value ... just in case.
There are a variety of ways of doing so but for most people it probably comes down to one of two options.
The one this article in the Apple Knowledge Base describes in detail uses iTunes 7 to burn a back-up copy of the contents of your iTunes Library and the Library files - but not the Album Artwork or Previous iTunes Libraries folders - to CD's/DVD's.
The other main method for creating your back-up is to save a copy of the iTunes folder on a separate hard drive. Some of our Discussions regulars are quite fond of that approach .
If, when and how you choose to back-up your music is your decision to make - just bear in mind that as far as I know we've never had anyone post in these discussions who's regretted creating a back-up copy of their iTunes Library.
But we often hear from people who regret not having done so.